Star Light Star Bright
by Cypher
Summary: Rich is sneaking out at night, but who's he talking to? (R&R)


**Star Light, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight**

by CypherCA 

* * *

This is the first official side fic to Life and Soul Reunited that I've written. This happens about a month after Rich has been rescued from the Dynasty, and he's gotten past most of his fears over women. This is also a rewrite, but much will be the same as the original. That's about all. Enjoy! 

* * *

Richard Jordon sat in the kitchen watching Cye bake cookies and Sage trying to keep Kento from getting to the batter. Personally, he thought it was better than television. 

"Sage please? Just a taste? 

"Kento, for you, a taste is half the bowl. No. You want to have cookies afterwards right?" 

"Yeah Kento," Cye said, supporting Sage. 

A thought suddenly struck Rich. "Hey Cye, what's today? 

"It's Saturday." 

"What time is it?" 

Sage stopped shoving Kento to glance at the clock. "About 2:56. Why?" 

"2:56!? Ack. Must get to TV, must get to TV." Rich ran out of the kitchen, leaving Cye, Sage, and Kento quite confused by his actions. When Rich reached the living room, he noticed Ryo heading for the couch. Just as he was about to sit down, Rich lunged, grabbed the remote, and turned on the TV. 

"Hey!" 

"Shhhh! Ro, you wanted to see one of my shows, it's on right now." No sooner had the words left his lips than Ryo was run over by the other blue-haired kid. 

"Did I miss much?" 

"No, it's just starting." Rich was on an English channel, and Ryo caught part of the opening. 

"Those.....Battle.....Earth." Then a commercial came on. He thought that Rich and Ro should apologize for running him over and wanted to vocalize this. 

"Hey guys.." 

"Be quiet. Now remember Ro, Da'an knows of the Resistance, Zo'or doesn't." 

"Guys, I'm ser-" 

"Ryo, shut up. Or do we have to kick your butt on the next commercial?" The show suddenly resumed in mid sentence. Ryo decided it wasn't worth the trouble and headed for the kitchen. That, and from the looks on the boys faces, they were serious about the butt kicking, and they weren't above using their armor. 

"Hey guys what's goi-" He stopped mid-sentence as he saw one of the funniest scenes ever. Kento had finally gotten the cookies and cookie dough, and was calmly sitting and eating. What was so funny was what he was sitting on: Sage and Cye. Cye was at the bottom, face down, and trying desperately to get up. Sage was on top of him in a cross-like fashion, also face down, and was trying to pull himself out from under Kento, who was sitting on the very center of the human cross. 

"Kento, I swear, when I get up, I'm going to kick your ass into next month!" 

"Not if I get him first Sage! And I will be far worse. I'm going to invoke the ultimate torture upon you Kento! I'm not going to cook for you, and only Rowen will be allowed to all week!" Kento knew it was an empty threat. Last time Rowen was in the kitchen, he blew up the toaster and microwave at the same time. Mia said that if she caught him ever cooking again, she would personally kill him. 

"Hey Ryo, want a cookie?" 

"Sure. How about a couple. Since you have all that dough." 

"Sure." Kento handed half a dozen cookies to Ryo, while Sage and Cye were glaring daggers at him. "So what's going on in the living room? Rich ran in there like-" 

"Yeah I know. So did Rowen. And I got run over twice. It has something to do with an American TV show involving aliens, battles, and Earth. I don't know. I didn't understand everything the narrator said. Apparently, they're very vicious when it comes to TV shows. They threatened to beat me to a pulp in I didn't be quiet." 

"Hmm. Oh well." 

************ 

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Zo'or is in charge of the Synod. Da'an is the North American companion, Ta'thon wants to control the Synod, but is even worse than Zo'or. Liam is the head of the Resistance and Da'an's protector. And he's not fully human he's part Taelon?" 

"No. He's two-thirds human and one-third proto-Taelon. I forget what they're called. Remember, he has a triple helix." 

"Okay. I think I got it." 

" I have the earlier seasons on tape. Want to borrow them?" 

"Maybe some other time. So, what smells so good?" 

"Oh, Cye was baking cookies." 

"Let's see if their finished." 

"Okay." When they entered the kitchen, they saw both Ryo and Kento sitting on top of the fuming Cye and Sage. "Umm, on second thought, why don't we work on deciphering that prophecy." Rich didn't want to be there when the Ronin of Water and Light got free. 

"Uh, good idea." They both left very quickly. 

************ 

"Hey Kento, do you think we can trust Rich?" Ryo was still sitting on the two enraged warriors, who were planning their untimely demise. 

"I don't know. I mean, Ro says that Rich is back to normal. But they Dynasty has a way of returning. So, I'm not sure." 

"Me neither. What do you think Sage, Cye?" Ryo asked, looking down at the two captives. 

"I think that if you don't get off me this instant, my leg is going to be in a very painful place." Cye responded. 

"Think we should let them up?" Kento asked Ryo. 

"I don't know....." Just then, Cye's leg hit Ryo squarely in his really sensitive spot. Ryo just slumped to the ground. Kento decided that running would be the best way to go. He made a mad dash for the woods, with Halo and Torrent at his heels. 

************ 

Rich waited to make sure his brother was deeply asleep. _I wonder what he would say if he knew that I don't really go to bed until later. Probably say something about metabolism and getting enough sleep. He'd be one to talk._ He silently got out of bed, put on some sweats, and donned his sub-armor. He crept down the stairs, hoping not to wake the Seasonals or Mia. He then quietly slipped out the front door and ran around to where his bedroom window was. Next, he used his sub-armor to jump on the roof, and he landed with a soft thump. He stood still for a few minutes, to see if he woke anybody up. He didn't hear anything, so he took off his sub-armor and laid down on the roof facing the stars. "Good evening guys. How are you tonight?" No one, not even Ro, had believed him when he said the armor allowed him to hear the stars. "Yeah, they still don't think I can talk to you. Now, that's not nice. I mean, if I were in their position, I might react like them. Sure, they can be immature or pigheaded some times. But still, that was very rude of you to say. Why am I defending them? You know the answer to that already. Yeah, I wish they would give me a chance too. I mean, sure, I was evil, but I was possessed. Ro understood that. It's the others. Especially Ryo and Kento. They really don't like me for some reason. I don't know why. What did I ever do to them. I mean, I even saved Ryo's life. Granted, I attacked him right afterward, but again, I was possessed. I couldn't do anything. I know, I know. I shouldn't blame myself for what happened. And I'm mostly over it. But Ryo just-" 

"I'm just what?" Ryo asked, wearing his sub-armor and glaring at Rich. "Well, I'm just what?" 

"Never mind. What are you doing up hear? I didn't think I woke anybody up." 

"White Blaze heard you and woke me up. So, who are you talking to?" Ryo still didn't fully trust Richard. 

"The stars," he replied, looking up at the sky again. 

"Yeah, sure. And I'm the Queen of England." Ryo answered sarcastically. 

"I'd say you look more like the Queen of Norway myself. The Queen of England is more pale than you." Rich responded, still staring at the sky. 

"Look, I don't know what your up to, but whatever it is I wil-" Ryo was cut off as Rich started laughing. He continued laughing for a few more minutes. He finally composed himself, wiped the tears from his eyes, and looked at Ryo. Then he burst out laughing again. Ryo had had it. "What's so funny!" 

"What..*gasp*...What the twins said about...about you," he managed between laughs. 

"What did they say?" 

"That you...*gasp*...and...and" Rich fell into another fit of laughter as he thought about it again. 

"WHAT DID THEY SAY!" 

Rich composed himself for a few moments. "That you and Bette Midler would make a perfect pair in a movie." He broke down again. Laughing even harder. 

Ryo was dumbfounded. _Bette who? What's he talking about?_ He looked at Rich again, who was finally starting to calm down. _On second thought, I don't want to know._ "Are you done now?" 

"Hehehe. Yes. Hehehe. Sorry. *ahem* Um, what were you saying?" 

Ryo was about to tell him, when he realized he didn't remember either. "Uh, never mind. Just, go back to talking with your sparkly friends." He turned to leave. 

"Hey, you know something?" Ryo turned to face him. "I really am on your side. You can stop acting like I'm preparing to attack you or something." Ryo scowled and jumped off the roof. "Sheesh. You know, I wonder what would happen if they heard what I hear. Can they? Can you do that? Make a wish?! What's that supposed to me-oh, on the first star I saw. Well gee, I can't remem-oh. You remember which one. Oh, okay. Are you sure this will work? Just make the wish huh? Okay." Rich turned to face the opposite star, and began one of the oldest rhymes in history. But this is what the stars said to do, so he did. He trusted them. "Star Light, Star Bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight." And of course, following the most sacred rules in the world, he made the wish inside his head. _Now, I just wait for a response I guess._ He put his sub-armor back on, jumped off the roof, and headed to bed. 

************ 

"Alright, whose turn is it to wake up the sleeping beauties?" Mia asked. All the boys pointed towards the Seasonals. The four Seasonals looked amongst themselves. No one wanted to wake up Rowen, except for his brother, but he was still asleep. They played odds and evens. Soon, it was down to Kayura and Dais. They played once more, and Kayura lost. She headed towards the boys room. When she got in, she debated whether to wake Rowen or Richard first. She decided that Richard would be easier and went over to his bed. She kneeled by his head and they were face to face. She tried calling his name. It got a small response, and he muttered something about bad casting. Then she tried blowing on his face. His eyes seemed the most sensitive, so she blew there. After a few minutes, Rich's eyes flew open by the irritation. 

"Morning' sweetie" Kayura got a reaction that time, but not what she wanted. He screamed loud enough to be heard in the Dynasty. Everyone in the kitchen raced up the stairs and ran into the room. Rowen sat up and looked at his brother. Finally, he stopped. 

"What the heck happened?" Cale asked. 

"I saw something I never expected to see in my lifetime. Kayura's head on the same pillow as mine." Kayura hit him on the arm. "What? I'm not expecting to wake up with a girl next to me for at least ten years. Least of all a 400+ year old girl. And I'm still a little nervous with girls and beds." 

The people from the kitchen groaned and laughed as they headed back downstairs. Rowen and Richard got dressed and went into the kitchen. Rich made sure he was far away from where Kayura sat. After breakfast, Rich thought it would be a good day to just relax and write. Yet as dusk approached, his thoughts turned to last night. _Will my wish come true?_ Dusk eventually settled and Rich went outside for an early chat. He wanted to be away from the house, so he headed for the woods. He didn't know he was being followed by Kento, who was curious as to why the younger boy just took off like that. Kento hopped from tree limb to tree limb until he saw Rich in a clearing, facing the sky. He stayed hidden, but close enough to hear Rich. 

"Well, are you going to do it tonight or not? You are? Great. What time should I get them ready? About nine. Isn't that a bit early? True, I'm not sneaking off like the last times. So, on the lawn at nine. I'll have them ready. Till then!" Rich turned and headed back to the house. He missed the person in orange and white sub-armor as he thought about later tonight. 

_Who was Rich talking to? And what does he mean 'have them ready on the lawn at nine'? Is he setting us up for an ambush? I'd better tell the others. Except Ro. He'll say we're just being paranoid._ Kento finally headed back to the house. Arriving just in time for dinner. He quietly informed Ryo that everyone except for Ro, Mia and Rich needed to meet for some important news. Ryo and Kento acted as if nothing was amiss at dinner. 

************ 

"Are you sure Kento?" 

"Yes, I'm positive. He said that he'd set us up on the lawn at nine tonight." 

"What are we going to do?" 

"Not go out. It's chilly this time of year." 

"He'll say wear a sweater or sub-armor or something." 

"What if only half of us go. That way, we'll have an advantage if the other half are standing by." 

"That could work." 

"What if we're interpreting this all wrong." All eyes turned towards the British Torrent. "I mean, what if he's not talking about us. Or he's just working on a story. After all, we've all seen him act out parts of his story so he can get the right wording." Everyone pondered what he said. 

"And if he does ask us to go outside?" 

"Then, um, let's see. He'll figure out some argument to ensure everyone comes out. He plans ahead you know. So, why don't we go out in sub-armor. We can say we don't want to wear sweaters and our sub-armors will keep us warm" 

"What if he asks us to take them off?" 

"He won't. He will probably think we're odd, but he wouldn't ask us to remove our sub-armors." 

"Okay then. It's settled. Now the hardest part." 

"What's that?" 

"Waiting." 

************ 

"Hey Ro." 

"Yea?" 

"Could you do me a favor?" 

"Sure. What?" 

"Could you help me get everyone onto the lawn. I want to show you all something." 

"No prob." 

"Make sure they're out by nine." 

"Right-o." 

************ 

Rich looked at the others with surprise. "Um, why are you all wearing your sub-armors?" 

"It's cold and we don't feel like putting on sweaters." Sage responded. 

"Right. Well, um, you don't need to have your sub-armors on if you don't want. It's your choice. But I do have something important to show you. Could you all please lay down on the ground facing the sky." No one moved. "I meant now." 

"Are you?" Kento asked. 

"No. I need to stand to show you this." 

"Well, then I'm going to stand too." This came from Sekhmet. 

Rich rolled his eyes. _I swear. Sometimes they act like children. And they're the eldest of the group._ "Please?" 

Sekhmet sighed and lay down with the others. "Now, I've told you all that I can hear the stars right? Yet none of you believe me. Also, I don't know if Ryo told you, but I've been sneaking to the roof at nights to talk to the stars." 

"So that's why you suddenly slept like Rowen," said Mia. 

"Any who, the other night, after Ryo left, I asked the stars if they could do a favor for me. And, this sounds ridiculous, they said to wish upon a star. So, I did. And that's why we're all out here. They decided to grant my wish." 

"And that is..."Cale asked, still skeptical about the whole thing. 

"Hold on," he check his watch, "you'll find out right......now!" All of a sudden, the area was full of harmonious music. There were some stray notes here and there, but otherwise, it was peaceful music. The Ronins and Seasonals looked for the source. When they couldn't find one, they looked at Rich. He was looking at the stars, but a few people caught his kanji glowing. They finally looked up and there was a stunned silence. The stars were **dancing**! They were moving here and there, in tempo with the music. Where ever there was a rouge star, there was a rouge note. Finally, Kayura found her voice. 

"Wh....what is this?" 

"This is what I hear and see every night," he said without moving his gaze. "The music you hear is the harmony the stars use to keep the universe together, or something like that. I don't fully understand it. The stray notes though, those are stars that are talking. Like the one that just strayed on the left," Everyone but Rich turned their head. "That star was Pisces. He likes the color of your armor Cye." 

"Um, thanks." And afterthought came to him. "Can they understand us?" 

Rich let out a small laugh, and some of the stars, they noted, 'laughed' with him. "Of course. They've understood humans since the dawn of time. No one can understand when they respond though." 

"How do you understand them?" This was from Dais. 

"I don't know really. I just do. I think it has to do with my armor." 

"So....every time you look at the night sky, you see and hear this?" Cale asked. 

"Yeah. I like it myself. But, every now and then, I think that the music can get annoying." There were a lot of stray notes now. "Well it's true. Like during Christmas time. Don't get me wrong. I love the music. But could you play something other than what is here?" The stray notes paused, then two really high ones sounded. "Not now. We'll discuss it later. This is for them remember." 

"Why are you showing us this?" This came from Rowen, who was slightly puzzled as to why this was significant. 

"Well, Ryo spotting me on the roof, you guys seeing me talk to the sky, I just wanted to show you why. Plus, it's so beautiful, I wanted to share it with you guys. I'm willing to bet that no one else on Earth will see this for a millennia." Several more notes sounded. "No, I didn't mean literally. Besides, you were supposed to stop gambling 100 years ago." This brought smiles to the Ronins' faces. Suddenly, the music fluxuated and the moving stars slowed down. "I have to stop this now. I can't keep it up any longer." 

"Go ahead. I got you." This was from Cye, who noticed that Rich's legs were weak. 

"Thanks." Suddenly, the music and stars stopped, and Richard collapsed into Cye's arms. Rowen helped Cye carry Rich back to the house and put him to bed. Mia also went to the house, but the other guys just got up and huddled into a group. 

"Well, Cye was partially right." 

"That was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." 

"I feel horrible. I mean we suspected him of setting up an attack or something." 

"You should feel horrible." 

"So should you. We all should. So, do we tell him?" 

"Naw. What he doesn't know can't hurt him" 

"Alright then." They headed back to the house. They didn't realize that someone was listening, the only other cluster that Richard confided his secrets to other than Polaris: Cancer. 

************ 

Richard slept the whole next day until midnight, when he got up and did his usually routine of sneaking out of the house and onto the roof. Oddly enough, he could only feel Cancer. "Is something wrong? Where are the others? You wanted to tell me something in private. Well, it's not a first, so what is it. THEY WHAT!?! What makes you say that? Oh." Rich suddenly looked down. "Well, how did they find out? I mean it was a silent wish." 

"Kento heard you talking in the clearing." 

Rich whirled around to face Sage. "I didn't see him go earlier to the...he followed me. Even after everything I've done, you still don't fully trust me. Heck, you trust the Seasonals more than you trust me." 

"Okay, so what if that's true. Cye trusts you. He told me tonight. If he does, that's enough for me. He is the Warrior of Trust after all. So......" 

Rich was silent for a moment. "What was your position when you first heard?" 

"I.....thought it might be an ambush, and only wanted half of us to go." 

"You know, if I were in your position, that's the kind of thing I would do." 

"Um, who told you, by the way?" 

"Cancer." 

"Isn't he your sign?" 

"Yep." 

"Ah, so he watches out for you when..." 

"....Polaris can't." 

They both looked at the stars for a few more minutes. 

"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" Both turned to see Cye walking toward them. 

"Hi Cye. So, you told Sage that you trust me. Did you mean it?" 

Cye looked hurt for a moment, then brightened. "Yes. Yes I did." 

"Then maybe you two can help me. I don't really want to meet each of you up here and talk about our past. For one thing, the roof would collapse." They all laughed a bit. "I've seen this happen before. I liked the solution that they figured out." 

"What was that?" 

"You'll see. You both agree that the only two people that fully trusted me the instant I walked into the house are Rowen and Mia right?" Sage nodded, and Cye did after a moment of thought. "Okay. Could you two do me a favor? Get everyone to come to the same spot that we went to last night at the same time tomorrow. Can you do that?" 

"Yeah but why..." 

"Just, trust me. Please?" 

"Okay." All three got off the roof and returned to their rooms. 

************ 

"Cye, why are we here again?" Ryo asked. 

"Because Rich asked us to gather you here again. That's why." 

"Why though?" Kento asked. 

"We don't know. He wouldn't tell us, he just said to trust him." Sage answered. 

"Well, it's five to nine and still no sign of him." Dais remarked. 

"How come Mia and Rowen didn't have to come?" Cale whined. 

"I think it's because they've accepted him already. If you think about it, we haven't really." 

"Halo has a point," Kayura said. 

"But where's Rich?" Sekhmet asked. 

"Hey, look over there." Cye pointed to three figures coming over to them from the house. The three stood about ten feet away from the others. 

"We've gathered everyone here because I am not sure what to do." Rich started out. "On one hand, my brother and his land lady have accepted me for who I am despite what I've done. On the other, I have you, who don't fully trust me because of what I have done in the past. Yet now, after what I showed you the other night, some of you are beginning to trust me, aside from the fact that you originally thought it was an attack of some sort I was planning." Nine surprised faces stared at him. 

_I didn't know the guys thought it was an attack. I bet they left me out of that meeting on purpose._ Rowen thought to himself. 

_How, how does he know? Cye and Sage don't look surprised, could they have told? No, they wouldn't do that. But how then._ Ryo thought. 

"Let's just say a big crab told me." At this, Cye and Sage burst out laughing and Rowen had a smile on. The other's just looked on with confusion. "I'll let Cye and Sage explain later. The important thing is that all of you aren't sure what to make of me because of my past actions with you. Well, that ends tonight." He walked toward Cye. "As of right now, I don't know any of you apart from being my brother's room mates and having armor like me. You only know that I bear the armor of Polestar, how I see the night, and that I'm the brother of Rowen." He stuck out his hand to Cye. "Let's start over with a clean slate. Hi, I'm Richard Jordon." 

Cye smiled and grasped the offered hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Cye Mouri." 

"Good to meet you too." Rich said. Then he moved down the line, repeating the hand shake and formal introduction until he reached the end, Ryo. "Hi, I'm Richard Jordon." 

Ryo looked from the hand to Rich's face to White Blaze, as if trying to get some sort of hint of what to do from the tiger. White Blaze walked up and licked Richard's hand, as a greeting. 

"Good to meet you too. So...." he stuck out his other hand to Ryo to try again. Ryo shrugged. 

_Awe, what the hey. Might as well give it a shot._ "Hi, I'm Ryo Sanada and this is my tiger, White Blaze." 

"We've met," Richard smiled, and they all headed back to the house to get reacquainted for the first time. 

************ 

Far above, twinkling with uncanny bright light, shined the star that Richard wished on. It was glad his wish came true. He knew that the wish, for the Ronins and Seasonals to see through his eyes was only on the surface. The desire to be accepted and understood by the Ronins, was the true wish. It also knew that he didn't do anything to make the wish come true. The secret among the stars on wishes was that one may wish on a star, but if one really wanted it to come true, they made it come true themselves. With maybe a little help from friends. 

* * *

Okay. The second half was harder for me to write cause I wasn't sure how to place everything into words. (Don't you hate it when that happens?). So, good, bad, corny, sentimental, made you laugh, cry, what? Please tell me. It's the only way I'll improve. Oh, the show that Richard and Rowen watched so intently (and is one of my favorites ^_^) is Earth: Final Conflict by Gene Roddenberry. 


End file.
